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Advantages of Turbine Blades Repaired by Flight Support |
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- Flight Support parts meet Pratt & Whitney new part standards.
RESULT: LONGER LIFE AND FEWER OVERHAULS PER HOUR OF ENGINE EXPERIENCE.
- The blade notch dimensions are machined to +/- .001”.
The overhaul manual requires +/- .002”. RESULT: SAFER LONGER
LASTING PARTS THAT FIT BETTER WITH ADJACENT BLADES.
- The blade shroud dimensions are machined to +/- .001”.
The overhaul manual requires +/- .002”. RESULT: SAFER LONGER
LASTING PARTS THAT FIT BETTER WITH ADJACENT BLADES.
- The parallelism of notches and shrouds are maintained per manual
requirements. There are presently no Pratt & Whitney tools
to measure these characteristics. Flight Support designed tools
measure these characteristics on every blade. RESULT: HIGH ASSURANCE
THAT ALL CHARACTERISTICS MEET NEW PART REQUIREMENTS.
- Sampling is not accepted for any turbine blade measurement
requirement. Only 100% evaluations of all characteristics are
allowed. RESULT: HIGH ASSURANCE THAT EVERY BLADE MEETS RIGOROUS
AND CONSISTENT STANDARDS.
- Rigid adherence to part number identification is maintained.
Few other suppliers consistently provide parts with the correct
identification after completion of every service bulletin. RESULT:
NO ERRORS IN IDENTIFICATION OF PARTS BEING ASSEMBLED IN A DISK.
- Coated parts are non-destructively tested twice. Once per the
manual requirements and again after coating. This is done because
1% to 3% of the parts show crack indications after coat that would
be cause for rejection before coat. These imperfections are removed
before a part goes to a customer. There is no manual requirement
for this second non-destructive test. RESULT: PARTS THAT ARE FLAWLESS
WHEN ASSEMBLED IN AN ENGINE.
- Notch “faces” are left “proud” to increase
blade life. Normally the shroud thickness deteriorates with use.
Flight Support compensates for this by using the maximum values
of the tolerance for the notch surface. Industry practice has
been to leave the dimension “flush” with the shroud
surfaces. RESULT: LONGER LIFE AND FEWER OVERHAULS PER HOUR OF
ENGINE EXPERIENCE.
- Air seals are restored to “new” dimensions. Industry
practice has been to omit restoration of air seals that are “serviceable.”
RESULT: ENGINE PERFORMANCE REPLICATES THAT OF NEW PARTS.
- Removal of flaws and FOD (Foreign Object Damage) is meticulously
administered and controlled at the inspector level, not the worker
level. Inspectors and only inspectors identify areas to be worked
on. Each flaw is specifically identified and meticulously marked
on every blade. Factory employees can only remove FOD in the specific
areas as directed. RESULT: LONGER BLADE LIFE BECAUSE ONLY MINIMAL
MATERIAL IS REMOVED.
- Flight Support is used by Pratt & Whitney for the design
and implementation of blade repair tools and processes. Flight
Support has volunteered to provide tool designs and concepts for
the OEM to use without charge to foster safe, long lasting turbines
in its JT8D engines. RESULT: PARTS REPAIRED BY FLIGHT SUPPORT
REPRESENT THE LEADING EDGE OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF BLADE REPAIR.
- Pratt & Whitney used Flight Support repaired blades when
there was question as to the likelihood of performing repairs
that are airworthy. Reference experiences with Air New Zealand,
Finnair and Federal Express. AN IMPLICIT ENDORSEMENT OF FLIGHT
SUPPORT QUALITY.
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